26 February 2016

Over the past two years portrait photography has become very important to me. There is something about taking photographs of people that I find truly special; the connection I build with them during a photowalk is rewarding as much as the photographs I get in the end. A big part of my love for portrait photography was born with the Lomography Petzval; no other lens I use has such a distinctive style.

After a bit of thinking, I have finally decided to share with you my 5 tips for portrait photography; I hope you will find them useful! Do you have other tips to share?

At the beginning of a photowalk I hardly ever start shooting right away; I always take some time to get to know my subject and make them feel at ease, even when taking portraits of a friend. I also try to make the subject familiar with my equipment; explaining the basics of how my Petzval works creates a better understanding between us.

Once the subject is feeling more at ease, use the first few images to study them even further; try to understand which pose they can hold more naturally, which side of their face they prefer, how daring they are in front of the camera. That will help you to guide them through the photo session.

Even though the subject of a portrait is the person, it is important to pay attention to the background as well. When shooting with my Petzval, I choose a background with many details, like the leaves of a tree or a rock with texture. Placing the subject a few steps away from the background will help you get the swirly bokeh.

When taking portraits outdoors it is important to make the most of the light condition you get; if there’s little light, make sure it illuminates that part of the subject that you rather emphasize. On the other hand, if the light is too strong, be careful not to get undesired shadows on the subject’s face.

Set your lens between the maximum aperture to 2.8 at most; that will increase the bokeh effect and detach your subject from the background. As for the speed, make sure it is never slower than 1/125; you are taking photographs of a person who most likely won’t be able to stand completely still.

22 February 2016

Unfortunately the weather turned for the worst and once again we had to retreat to the botanic garden for our photowalk with Maarja. Hoping the sun will eventually come out again I have finally been accepted to the Facebook group Valokuvaajat & Mallit - Photographers & Models: will that bring plenty more photowalks? Fingers crossed!

14 February 2016

We took portraits in the snow in January and this is the February version. These days the snow falls, melts away and then falls again: when will spring finally come? Yesterday morning though the sun was shining and we took a lovely walk around Seurasaari. On Wednesday I got my hair cut even shorter: can you tell from the photos? Hard to believe it was still so long this time last year: I seem to like myself much more with shorter hair. How is your February going? Do you prefer long or short hair? Happy Valentine's Day!

06 February 2016

I am curious to see if this portrait of my cat Tove will get more attention than my other latest entries. What a disappointment the new year has been in terms of comments and visits to this blog: I cannot believe the Photowalk with Minttu & Corey has received no comments at all. I can only imagine that my decision to switch to digital has really affected some of my readers after all. That is too bad because I have been enjoying my Nikon Df so much and I am planning to have many more photowalks!

01 February 2016

The weather got suddenly warmer and sadly most of the snow has melted away: however that gave us the chance to finally take a photowalk outdoors. This time we went to Nuuksio with Minttu and Corey. I have been working with Corey for over five months: it was lovely to finally spend some time with him and his girlfriend Minttu outside working hours. A photowalk is a great way to get to know someone better!